Oxford University homepage
PHI Home    PROM Bibliography    Help    Hints and Tips  

PROM Bibliography - Hints and Tips

  • For more information on types of instrument, see Instrument Selection - Types of Instrument.
  • We have limited the use of abbreviations/acronyms in the instruments list, including only those which are very widely used (e.g. SF-36) or more easily recognised by their shortened form (e.g. WOMAC).
  • In general, we have adhered to UK English spelling (e.g. ‘paediatric’ rather than ‘pediatric’), but used US spelling where the original instrument name demands it (e.g. Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory).
  • Not all instruments cited in the abstract of a record will be included in the keywords – where, for example, the instrument has been used simply for comparison or validation purposes, and is not itself the focus of the study. So, searching for records with ‘SF-36’ in the keywords (using Box 1) will retrieve fewer records than searching for records with ‘SF-36’ in the abstract (using Box 3).
  • Where there are several instruments with the same name, e.g. the Index of Well-being, we have tried to distinguish them by including the developer’s name – so, for example, the keywords list includes the ‘Kaplan-Bush Index of Well-being’ and the ‘Campbell Index of Well-being’, but not the ‘Index of Well-being’. However, if you are not sure which one you are looking for, use the ‘wild card’ (*Index of Well-being). Alternatively, use the Free-text searching option.
  • Where the author uses an instrument name which diverges from the one on the standardised list, the standardised version may be indicated in square brackets []. Again, records including either version or both can be retrieved using the Free-text searching option.
  • A few instruments, for example, the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale, are generally clinician-assessed but sometimes adapted as patient-report instruments. So, not all records where the UDPRS is discussed will include this instrument in the keywords list.
  • Utility measures (see Instrument selection – Types of Instrument): initially, we aimed to include a broad range of records referring to measures such as the QALY (quality-adjusted life-year). More recently, we have tried to limit inclusion to those records where patient-reporting is clearly involved.

Back to search page